This invention relates to devices for determining whether a woman is at a time in her menstrual cycle when she is likely to conceive. More specifically, the invention is directed to the construction of such an apparatus which is portable, inexpensive, easy to use, and which can be employed by a woman to evaluate her fertility on any day in her menstrual cycle without the intervention of a physician or other health professional.
It is known that there are some days in a woman's menstrual cycle when she is fertile and likely to conceive and other days when conception is improbable. The fertility period typically lasts approximately six days out of each thirty day period. It is known in the art to measure a woman's body temperature to detect fertile times. A decrease in temperature is associated with the fertile portion of the cycle. Another method of determining fertility is by the consistency of the mucus in the vagina. Viscosity of the mucus increases when fertility is high.
Still another technique for determining fertility is by visual examination of the woman's saliva. At fertile times, microscopic viewing of the saliva reveals a structure which resembles ferns. At infertile times, the same inspection of the saliva reveals dotted structures. Examination of saliva offers a simple way to determine fertility.
It is known in the art to assemble a slide and magnifier into a cylindrical tube having a source of illumination. Such a device is disclosed in Czech Patent No. 23701 entitled "Fertility Tester" issued to Meopta Prerov A.S. on an application made on Jun. 23, 1992 and published on Oct. 20, 1992. In addition to the inconvenience of having to clean such a device of the prior saliva sample before each use, the Czech device does not enable a comparison of the saliva specimens from day to day nor a comparison of specimens between days in different months.